Julie Ekman, LCSW

Licensed in Illinois · 29 years in practice

Julie Ekman is a licensed clinical social worker with 29 years of experience.

License and registration

LCSW, Illinois: 149010500 · expires November 2027
NPI: 1255202503 · national provider identifier
Years in practice: 29
Languages: English

Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check any license with the state board and any NPI with the national registry.

About Julie

Julie Ekman is a licensed clinical social worker with 29 years of experience. She draws on long experience in schools and community settings to help people facing stress, anxiety, and life transitions. Her style is warm and practical and aimed at making real change feel possible.

Julie blends strengths-focused work with solution-oriented and cognitive behavioral ideas. She meets people where they are and helps them set small, achievable steps toward clearer goals.

Background and approach

Sessions often focus on building confidence, calming anxious reactions, and improving everyday coping skills. Her background includes many years as a school social worker and experience as a family therapist. That history shaped a skill set for working with communication problems, motivation, and relationship stress.

Julie also supports people dealing with chronic pain, illness, or disability and the emotional burdens those bring. Common topics she addresses are self-esteem, career concerns, midlife changes, divorce and separation, and feelings of isolation or shame. She uses plain language to break down problems and to plan practical actions a person can try between sessions.

People describe the work as collaborative: Julie helps identify what matters most and shows step-by-step ways to move toward it. She practices in Illinois and offers sessions in English. Taking a first step can feel hard, and she aims to make that step straightforward and manageable.

Focus areas and approaches

Everything Julie lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.

Online support

How practical therapy techniques work online

Julie integrates strengths-focused work, solution-focused methods, and cognitive behavioral ideas into online sessions. Strengths-focused work identifies what someone already does well and builds on those abilities to tackle current problems. Solution-focused methods keep conversations goal-directed and focus on small first steps that can change daily patterns. Cognitive behavioral techniques look at how thoughts, behaviors, and feelings connect and teach simple strategies to reduce anxiety or change unhelpful routines.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will listen to what matters most, discuss possible ways to work, and adjust methods as goals evolve. Clients and therapist decide together which mix of strategies feels most useful for the issue at hand.

Online sessions use video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video allows face-to-face conversation for deeper work, phone can fit a short check-in or low-bandwidth moments, live chat is handy for written back-and-forth, and text messaging supports brief updates between sessions. These options help people fit therapy into busy days and different schedules while keeping the focus on practical steps and progress.

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Questions people ask

What concerns does she commonly help with?

She works with stress, anxiety, family conflicts, self-esteem, career issues, and coping with life changes, along with related topics such as chronic pain, guilt, and social anxiety.

What is her therapy style like?

Julie uses a client-centered, strengths-focused and solution-oriented approach with cognitive behavioral ideas. Sessions emphasize practical steps and skills to try between meetings.

How long has she been practicing?

She has 29 years of experience in social work, including many years working in schools and as a family therapist.

Where is she licensed and located?

Julie holds an Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential and practices in Illinois.

Which languages are supported for sessions?

Sessions are offered in English.

Can she work with clients outside the United States?

International clients are not currently accepted.

What session formats are available?

She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.

How are fees and getting started handled?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

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